Love Is War
by x-3114-x
Summary: Arthur is completely alone until a certain hero saves him from his troubles. He now has actual friends and a slight crush on his hero. That crush soon grows to something more between the two & is threatened by jealousy, old friends-now enemies, past secret feelings and built up pain. USUK fic.There are side pairings..such as onesided Franada and AmeCan, PruAus, DenNor & GerIta.
1. The Hero

Yellow my friends! I know I've only just started a Vocaloid fic..but I couldn't help but start a Hetalia fanfic because I love USUK sooo much! *-*

So if the beginning Prologue seems a little familiar...well it might not...but if it does, and somehow you managed to catch on, know that I didn't mean to 'steal' it. No it isn't from another fanfic...but I could've made this story a crossover let's just say. But it doesn't seem that similar to me, so I decided not to.

I'm not really sure what POV this is in...let's just say mostly Alfred's and Arthur's...sometimes the other Hetalia characters too.

WARNING: There is boyxboy in this, so if you no likey, you may leavy as I put it. x3 Also there is minor violence and a suicide act. Also will be future possible violence or threats...so you have been warned! :P

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia

Anyway...please enjoy! :)

* * *

**_Prologue_**

A messy-blonde-haired boy, with _usually_ defiant green eyes towards other's unhealthy and hazardous habits, and _usually_ an irritable and stern air about him, now stood upon the school's top floor's concrete ledge, the storm of wind whipping his hair around like a monsoon, compelling the wisps of hair to appear even messier. Today, he had a grim look in his eyes and everything seemed comical...in a bitter way. And Arthur therefore felt quite a bit of irony and hysteria in this situation. It was probably due to the daze he was feeling from this alarming astonishment of what he was to do at this very moment and how quickly he was to pull it off.

He watched the taller but younger as he gawked at Arthur in astonishment and disbelief. Arthur swayed on the edge of the building, his feet and legs wavering and shaking in fear as he looked at Alfred, and tenderly smiled, as if assuring him it would all be okay. He hoped that was enough to convince him.

But really his heart thudded in his lower gut as he stood stiff and tense on the edge, fearful that if he moved at all that that was the last he'd ever see of his dearest Alfred.

"Blimey…" Arthur laughed shakily as he stared longingly into Alfred's panicked, big blue eyes. "I never thought I'd end up eight meters high on the edge of the school building, this morning. Threatening to jump, no less. That just sounds bloody absurd/ludicrous if you ask me." The brit gave another weak laugh and was instantly silenced as he felt wind rush through him, rocking his stance, causing him to wince as his heart sped up.

Why had he chosen to do this on a gusty day? Well, it's not like he'd chosen to…far from chosen, actually. He'd hardly had a say in the matter.

"Artie…don't do this! Why are you doing this?" The taller blonde with the glasses who always had a quirky and overjoyed grin on his face, that had seemed childish and annoying to the Englishman-but really just one of the things he loved most about him-was not there today. It was replaced with a look of horror and distress. Those shining eyes that always had life in them, were now wrecked with a red puffy look under them and welling up tears that fell down his pink cheeks.

Or at least Arthur thought that those tears wrecked his beautiful, blue doe eyes. Although, he knew that was just his stubbornness talking. He knew it actually meant a lot to him that Alfred was pained so deeply at his act of suicide, and it made him long that he didn't have to do so. He wanted so badly to walk down from that ledge, rush over to where Alfred stood and wrap his arms around the big mess. To let those big arms hold him safely to that familiar chest, and to tell Alfred that everything would be fine and that all of this was just a big, stupid joke.

But he knew he couldn't do that. Like he'd mentioned before…he had no choice in the matter. If he didn't…well he didn't want to have to think about what would happen if he didn't. Even the thought had him choke up.

Why did he have to make so many friends the last year of school? He used to be the quiet, stubborn boy who kept to himself. Who did all his assignments on time; who had a perfect GPA; who had a perfectly ignorant approval, but good distance, from his family. Why couldn't he have just not been saved by the stupid git, who stood in front of him at this moment, from all that bullying?

It wasn't like it had hurt him at all…he was fine with being picked on-he'd just brush it off like he'd been doing...before all this silly friendship nonsense. No problem. He could've dealt with it without anyone else's help. He was used to being alone, after all...

If all of that hadn't happened…maybe he wouldn't have developed this silly little crush on his hero who'd saved him. Then maybe it wouldn't have turned into something raging like a wildfire…something so much more. Why had he had to fall in love, so much, with Alfred this year at school?

* * *

Arthur walked through the halls at a fast pace, his books clutched in his hands as he yawned, his hair tussled and mussed from not brushing it, a little tired from the night before after late night studying. Arthur yawned once more as he looked over and saw _them_. He kept a straight face, his eyebrows adding to how serious and determined he looked. This time he was going to ignore the damned bastards. He didn't need to waste time on those incompetent gits anyway. Especially only after third period.

Noticing the reckless, troublesome, and thoughtless behavior of _them _as they stuck gum to the walls and made other students do their homework, the brit looked down at the ground as he passed the group, hoping to be unnoticed. Although Arthur had to strongly suppress the desire to express his irritation at their unpleasantness, he bit down on his lip and kept walking swiftly.

"Hey you!" One of the tougher and more obnoxious brown haired boys yelled, although the Englishman was only a meter or two away.

"Yes?" Arthur looked up, sighing.

"You're a stickler, right? One of those annoying nerds who always has to point out the 'right thing' or whatever?"

Arthur grunted at what he'd said. What the hell? "I am not. But I know what you are."

"Oh yeah?" The guy looked at Arthur, daring him to continue his thoughts.

"You're all thick dimwits who have nothing better to do than to mess around in the halls and classrooms and burden other's education!" Arthur exclaimed in a burst and suddenly found the guy rushing up to him, slamming his back into a locker. People by those lockers gasped and moved away at the sudden fight that had broken out in the halls.

"Say that again and I won't forgive you." The guy threatened him, sneering with clenched teeth.

The people on the brunette's side were now cheering on the fight and soon there was a circle around the two.

"Bloody thick, is what you are." Arthur breathed out in a mutter under his breath, irritated at the nerve of this guy.

Arthur felt a punch suddenly strike his cheek. He winced at the pain and reached up to his face. It was all happening so fast, and as he looked around him at the shouts and laughing-all excited kids, Arthur wondered, Did they not care what happened to him at all?

Of course not, he told himself. He had no friends, and plenty of people found his being a stickler for the rules agitating. He knew all the glares he got from students in the school, if he was lucky enough to be noticed anyway, and how it was no surprise no one cared. He was completely alone and that was they way it had always been, and would continue to stay.

It was no new information to Arthur. If someone asked him if he was alone, like his brothers had in the past, he would immediately deny the fact, acting as if it were preposterous, with a slight blush on his face. But Arthur had come to terms with it. It was fine! …really. It was…

Who was he trying to convince here? He wondered and stopped his thoughts from rambling any longer.

Arthur blinked back to the angered boy in front of him.

"Do you think I'm a dimwit now?" The guy chuckled, looking smugly down at Arthur, as he punched Arthur in the face once more. Arthur felt his nose crack.

Ow! Arthur whimpered at the pain, trying to reach up to protect his nose. God it hurt like hell! But quickly, and untimely, after, the guy punched Arthur's face once more and demanded for an answer, "Huh?" Arthur gave no answer, just stood there, a weak glare on his face as he tried to recover from the splitting pain.

Arthur spat blood from his mouth at the guy's face. This person really was an incompetent git. Starting a fight like this proved he had no sense in the world; it was an act of foolishness that would only send him to the principle's office.

In retort to Arthur's silent act, and the blood that had infuriated the him, the guy recoiled his clenched fist and uppercut the brit right in the gut.

Arthur found himself doubling over, clutching his stomach in agony. The guy smirked and grabbed onto Arthur's shoulder and slammed his fist right in his stomach again and again.

The fourth time, Arthur felt as if he was going to be sick, and holding his sides, he spewed more blood, this time a larger amount, on the white, linoleum, hallway tiles.

The brunette sneered at the smaller Englishman now pressed up against the locker and slowly sinking to the floor.

Arthur hoped he would be done soon so that he could get a hold of himself and clean up before the next bell rung.

The guy took a hold of the brit's collar and held him up higher for better 'access'. He yanked back his fist once more, Arthur wincing for the next blow.

But, as he closed his eyes, there came none. Arthur opened his frightened but surprised green eyes wide as soon as a disapproving voice spoke, "What are you doing to my friend?" A hand had stopped the punch from commencing, gripping the guy's forearm in midair, before it had reached Arthur.

Arthur looked up, shocked at what this person had said. He was shocked at someone _actually_ intervening at all. The others around them were also at a loss for words.

Arthur knew this person-the blonde hair, the big, twinkling blue eyes, the glasses, the taller and more muscular figure than his own. He'd known him since he was a kid-a childhood friend you could say. Except that they didn't talk much these days. Arthur knew he was loud and obnoxiously happy and kid-ish all the time, but that was about it. He would have never called them 'friends'.

Alfred was suddenly punched in the face by the brunette, as he was looking at Alfred, worriedly distracted.

"What's your problem, bro?" Alfred looked at the brunette, a frown on his face. "Go pick on someone else before I show you how a real hero fights." Alfred pushed the guy away, annoyed at how quickly this guy was to lift a fist to another.

Everyone then walked off, the guy pissed at the interference, leaving the two alone. He obviously didn't want to test his luck against Alfred.

"You okay there, Arthur?" Alfred looked down at Arthur, feeling concern for the old time friend of his.

"Y-yes." Arthur looked up at Alfred, blushing. Why on earth was he blushing? God damnit.

Arthur found he had collapsed to the ground the moment the guy had let go of him. He was now breathing hard, his heart beating fast. He wiped his nose and mouth on his white sleeve and cursed. Bloody hell! He'd never get this blood out. Arthur felt a wave of relief at sitting down and realized he'd actually been startled at what had been commencing so fast. He also realized he felt slightly dizzy now and really overwhelmed.

"T-thank you. You really saved me there, Alfred." Arthur looked up at the blonde, standing above him. Alfred was actually kind of…handsome. The way he wore glasses over those big, sparkling blue eyes. Kind of cute with the curl in his hair and the way he always smiled so childishly. Arthur felt his head turn slightly to the side, captured by the American's visage. Why had he never noticed it before?

Alfred watched as the brit looked at him almost awe-struck. "Yeah! No problem, broski! I _was_ your hero today, huh!" Alfred winked at Arthur with a delighted smirk on his face. And he watched as Arthur turned red. Alfred felt a blush creeping up on his cheeks too. Was that a weird thing to say? He wasn't quite sure…oh well.

Arthur watched Alfred rub the back of his head, chuckling. Yeah…he definitely was cute. Arthur felt his blush deepen as his heart beat faster, this time not because of the thrill of the fight.

"Need a hand up?" Alfred offered his hand as Arthur wiped his mouth once more-this time using his hand-and took the help up.

"Thanks." Arthur mumbled, still a little embarrassed. "I really was in trouble there. I appreciate it." Arthur kept hold of Alfred's hand and big eyes for a second longer than people usually would have. Blushing, he shook his head, brushed off his jeans and grabbed his books from the ground, trying to not let Alfred see his blush. God damnit…what was up with him today? Why did Alfred make him feel so…butterfly-ish?

"Anytime, bro!" Alfred grinned, feeling like a real hero now. Then he became curious, "Why _were_ you in that mess anyway, bruh?"

"Just a difference of personalities makes us clash a lot-we disagree all the time. Although it's never gotten to be that bad before…" Arthur tailed off, a little shaken by thinking about it.

"Why didn't anyone stop it?" Alfred asked, clueless. No one was that mean to let Arthur suffer like that...right?

Arthur looked into Alfred's curious blue eyes, blushed again and looked to the ground in embarrassment. "Uh…no reason." He cleared his throat, looking for a way to say it. "I just have a whole lot more enemies like that than friends, let's just say." He hoped that would be enough of an answer for Alfred-why was he telling this to him anyway? Was it because he was the only friend he had? –If you could call them friends. Why did Alfred call him is friend anyway? Arthur and him never really spoke much afterall.

Alfred frowned at Arthur's response, not completely understanding…wasn't it a hard life to have with more enemies than friends? He sure couldn't imagine it…it sounded awful and he felt sympathy for the poor dude.

The he had a perfect idea.

"Dude! Why don't you come and join me and my friends at lunch! They're the best and everyone will definitely want to have an awesome guy like you there! Trust me, Iggy, you'll love it!" Alfred beamed-this was perfect! What a heroic thing to do! Although he had his own reasons to do it too, he must admit. He remembered Arthur since they were kids, and missed having him around. They never got to speak much, so hopefully, if he intentionally invited him to things so that their paths would cross more often, then their friendship would grow stronger!

Arthur blinked at the insane idea-but was it really that insane? It was his chance to maybe open up to people-to make some friends. To not be alone for once. Alfred was the friendliest guy he knew, and he felt as if he wanted to be near him as much as possible from now on. And to get closer to Alfred. Why was that such a big factor in this decision now? That thought made him blush, but he knew it was true.

And then another thought crossed his mind, "How the bloody hell did you get Iggy from Arthur?"

"I don't know bruh, it just makes you sound cuter!" Alfred grinned and grabbed Arthur's hand as the bell rang.

Alfred pulled Arthur along to lunch, causing Arthur to blush madly, and his heart beat faster in anticipation for meeting the others and possibly making new friends. Also at the fact that he knew he liked Alfred and had a serious head-over-heels crush for the silly hero.

* * *

So I hoped you guys enjoyed that! It always seems longer when I type it out in word...blurg. xP

And I hope to have the next chapter up soon. Please R&R! I love you guys for it! ^0^

Also if any of you did realize the prologue from the beginning..let me know. Cuz that would be very interesting and it'd probably give you some insight of how this story might go. :3

I hope the character's personalities are right...I suck at really bringing out a good strong personality in the characters. xP

Let me know if the 'big words' I used made it too confusing! (and therefore less dramatic)..I just thought it added to the story, but if it was actually just more troubling for you readers, I can go back and change it and try to not do it next time! x3 Thanks again! ^-^


	2. The Feelings

Hey gals and most likely more gals..._possibly_ a few guys. C'est possible..

Sorry I haven't updated in forever...I truly apologize! I was having major school issues...super busy. And then writing block issues... v.v Guh...yes I know it's no excuse, since it's now summer and all...but I'm proud of this chapter :D And at least it's here x_x So yes! Please do enjoy~!

One of the big problems I was having w/ writing this is I didn't know _exactly _what direction I wanted to take it, which characters I wanted in the story...but I do now! :D So get ready for an epic story of drama drama drama...revolved around romance of course~! ^-^

Although I do apologize...because it takes a lot to edit perfectly and make it pristine and perfect...so it may take a while..but I will try and update faster.. x3

But I promise you, I will make sure it is worthy of your time! So thanks for all of your favorites, reviews, follows~! 8D I love you so much for it! ^0^

Anyway, the story is just heating up... MUHAHAHAHA.. 8D

Disclaimer: I love Hetalia, but sadly, do not own it...not even poor, little Canada VoV

Enjoy, my country loving friends~!

* * *

As they arrived at the busy entrance to the cafeteria, Alfred was so psyched for lunch. He looked behind at the brit who had let go of his hand, now keeling over, his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.

"Come on, Iggy! I wanna make sure I don't miss out on those hamburgers!"

Arthur glared up at the boy, but saw his excited expression and decided to sympathize-he vaguely recalled the American's love for hamburgers, and didn't want to kill his happiness just because he wasn't feeling well.

"You can keep going. I think I'm going to head to the nurse for a bit." Arthur turned and started walking away, his hand to his stomach. He wasn't sure he _could_ eat anything after all of what had happened. God he hoped he hadn't cracked a rib.

"Wait, but Igster!" Arthur's furry eyebrows twitched at the obnoxious name Alfred had called out. He sighed and turned to see Alfred rushing towards him. "Hey, if you're not feeling well I can come down there with you! Just wait here one second, kay?" Alfred wasn't about to leave his friend alone in the dumps. He decided to do the right thing and join him. Then he could meet up with his other friends later and introduce them all to the brit.

Arthur gave Alfred one questionable glance and told him in a stern voice, "Alright. Just so long as you won't repeat that bloody awful nickname anymore."

Alfred cheekily grinned and exclaimed, "No promises!" before he rushed through the crowd of people and disappeared. Arthur sighed and leaned against a wall, although it was probably quite unsanitary. Yeah, and blood on his sleeve wasn't? He shook his head to himself and waited.

Alfred dashed through the people around him, under arms and through conversations, shouting, "'Scuse me!" "Comin' through!" until he'd made it inside. Yes! The line wasn't too long! He stood behind about ten people and tried to peek past them in order to see what he was after.

Francis stood behind the intriguing American, wondering what he was doing. "Oh, mon petit chou!" He called in a rather curious tone. "Why in such a hurry?"

Alfred heard the confusing language being called from behind him, and since he was used to having to look out for the weird pet names the Frenchie called them, he turned to see the long, wavy blonde and blue eyed right there. "Oh hey broski! I gotta hurry and get to the hamburgers before they're all gone..." Alfred took another peek in front of them as they moved up in line, then continued his sentence, "…So that I can go with Arthur to the nurse's office!"

Francis raised an eyebrow, his eyes widening and his smile crept up his lips. He barely knew Arthur, but sometimes liked to tease him because he was so easily angered. How very intriguing that Alfred would take a sudden interest in the quiet, short-tempered brit.

"What on Earth happened to poor Eyebrows?" Francis supplied Alfred with a shocked expression, his hand covering his mouth.

"Artie was being beat up by these jerks. And no one came in to stop them until me, the hero, did." Alfred pointed to himself with the pride and honor of a true American.

"Oh, mon ami! It's such a shame that he was treated so terribly!" Francis exclaimed. "Je suis desole!"

"Yeah...it's been forever since I talked to Arthur. I wonder how he got himself in that mess." Alfred's voice seemed to sort of drift off as past memories surfaced, and then abruptly his eyes widened as he rushed up to the hamburgers and he grabbed two of them. "Alright!" He fist punched the air and went up to pay for them. This day was just getting better and better-being a hero that early in the morning, seeing Iggy again, and now two whole hamburgers for himself!

Francis wondered what change of events would happen if Arthur started joining them at lunch. He'd always thought having Arthur around was quite interesting and he was _thoroughly_ amusing to pick on. The Frenchman chuckled and picked up a sandwich from the line and watched as Alfred waved him goodbye and ran off at great speed.

Matthew had been standing behind Francis and had noticed that his brother had run off somewhere again. No one had noticed him. But he was already used to the feeling.

"F-Francis.." Matthew whispered, feeling uneasy now. He reached out and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Oh, why bonjour there, Mattie. Sorry I didn't notice you." Francis said as Matthew recoiled his arm to the safety of his white teddy bear, Kumajiro.

"Eh, c'est bien." Matthew replied. "Who's the person Alfred was talking about?" He wondered, curiously.

"Oh, Arthur! He's a real stickler and gets annoyed easily. Quite a funny personality, really." The Frenchman laughed throatily and continued, slyly, "I'm sure we'll be able to have great fun with him."

There was an odd glint in Francis' eye at that moment, and Matthew noticed it.

He tried to ignore it since Francis would've denied it, grabbed a sandwich, and walked with him to the table where they greeted everyone else.

* * *

"Iggy! Iggy! Iggy! Igg-" Alfred came racing up to Iggy, one hand holding a hamburger, the other waving about as the American had his mouth full of his other hamburger.

"Quiet, would you?" Arthur sighed as his eyebrows furrowed. Really...Alfred was so childish and had no manners whatsoever. He remembered the American to be less detestable and displeasing when they were children. And he kept calling him that bloody name. "And take that hamburger out of your mouth when you're talking."

"Waaaa!" Alfred whined. "I don't like Iggy this way! Iggy wasn't so upset before. What's the matter now?" He took a bite and held the half eaten hamburger in his hand as Arthur started walking. Alfred realized he had to keep up as Arthur kept moving without answering the question.

"Nothing. It's just rude manners is all." Arthur replied. He continued, matter-of-factly, "And if you don't like me than you shouldn't come with me to the nurse's office."

"No! I like Iggy!" Alfred rushed up once again and took a hold of Arthur's hand, swinging it back and forth now. He started almost bouncing up and down as they walked and Iggy's cheeks became hot.

"Let go you git." Arthur mumbled out to Alfred, but knew it was no use. Alfred kept bouncing down the hall and didn't even notice Arthur trying to let go...or the sudden bright-red-color conjuring up on his cheeks.

"Bloody hell..." Arthur muttered as they made it to the third floor.

"So Arthur, I was thinking you could meet my friends after you were feeling better! We can meet them at the lunch room after this." Alfred grinned as he swung their hands back and forth as he took the last bite of his hamburger. He mumbled to himself, "Aww..all gone. I should've gotten more."

How many can he eat? Arthur wondered as they turned the corner. He didn't remember the American to be able to stomach much when they were kids-only a few of the scones he'd made and then he was finished. Alfred sure had changed in all these years they hadn't seen each other. "Sure I can meet them. I don't know if they'll want to though.." He muttered the last sentence under his breath. He did know plenty of people in this school that _didn't_ like him after all. He'd made so many enemies in his first year being here. It'd shocked him that Alfred was here at all...that he'd even recognized him...let alone _save_ him. Fate was a funny thing.

"Of course they will!" Alfred beamed.

Arthur, still unsure, sighted the nurse's door and opened it to find a familiar lady who asked, "Hello, Arthur. What's the matter?"

"Hey Mrs. Clover. My stomach's been hurting. I was wondering if I could rest here a while?"

"Of course. Take a seat over here." She patted a bed and gave a friendly smile to Alfred, then looked back at Arthur, then down to their hands, with an almost knowing smile, "And who might this be?"

"I'm Alfred." He introduced himself with a beam as always, still clutching onto Arthur's hand, holding the other up as if he'd been called on.

"It's nice to meet you Alfred." Mrs. Clover opened her hand out to shake it with him. Alfred complied, now letting go of Arthur's hand to do so.

"And what are you here for?" She asked.

"Here to keep Iggy company, of course!" He replied.

"Alright then. If you need anything Arthur just let me know, okay?"

"Thanks." Arthur smiled at her and nodded, going over to the bed to lay down on it. His stomach really was killing him now. He hoped it didn't feel like this for the rest of the day. God that would be hell.

Alfred went to sit beside Arthur, on the bed.

"So you know her pretty well, huh, dude?" Alfred asked.

"Yeah, I come here quite frequently." Arthur nodded.

Alfred gave a questioning look, "What for?"

Arthur sighed. "A lot of things really. Not much to go into detail about." He laughed a little nervously, and then suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his stomach. "Guh!" Arthur exclaimed as he clutched his stomach.

Alfred stood up and leaned over at Iggy, looking at him worriedly, "Are you alright Iggy? Shouldn't you get that checked out?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Just hurts a little." Arthur once again laughed it off shakily and winced again. "Just remind me not to laugh anymore in the meantime."

"Okay, dude. Just tell me if you need the nurse, cuz I'll get her for you." Alfred shrugged and sat back down, barely realizing he'd stood up at the sound of the brit's pain.

"Thanks." Arthur let the silence take them in a little while and looked out the window to his left. It was a sunny day out today-the snow had been slowly melting for the past few days. The school year was actually so close to being over already-only half left to go. He looked up at Alfred and suddenly felt compelled to ask a very serious question, "Alfred, why did you help me today? We haven't talked or even crossed paths in years."

The question took Alfred aback and he thought about it, "I don't know...I just...I saw you all alone, in pain, Iggy, and I didn't want you to be in pain." He rubbed the back of his already messy blonde hair. "I know what it's like to be alone...so alone that it's painful. Every day hurt." The taller, blue eyed teenager dropped his hand by his side and looked deeply into Arthur's eyes, almost as if he was waiting for him to continue. To comment in some form...but he dropped that solemn, desolate look with a bow of his head and looked back to the Englishman to continue, "And even though we haven't spoken in a while, I'm sure there's good to come since we are now." He smiled down at Arthur.

"I hope so." Arthur smiled down at the pillows beside him. He wondered what that look was for...what on earth could've hurt Alfred so much in the past to the point that he'd changed this much? To the point that that look was hiding something from Arthur, and he knew he needed to find out what. "I guess you don't sound like a git _all_ the time." He suddenly broke the silence and laughed to himself, lightly.

"Do you really think I'm that much of a git?" Alfred pouted.

"Hey, if you're a git, you're a git. There's not much you can do about it. Except maybe work on your eating skills." Arthur reached up and brushed off a crumb or two from the American's lip.

Alfred widened his eyes as Arthur did so and he felt his heart thump loudly. What was that? He'd already shut himself off from the Englishman before, keeping his true feelings deep inside where he'd never have to feel that pain again. Why were his feelings, without hesitation, surfacing again? Damnit.

Arthur looked away hastily, blushing. Damn his strange behavior today. Alfred just made him feel so...

There was a sudden burst of the door as it flew open. Suddenly faces came pouring in and Arthur was shocked at being caught in the act of what had just happened, his cheeks still slightly pink. Alfred was also shocked, but suddenly that shock changed to overwhelming happiness.

"Hey guys! You made it!" Alfred exclaimed in excitement.

"Did you like our awesome entrance? I thought of it, myself, of course." Gilbert gave a smug look and grinned, his arms crossed in front of his chest. "Only the awesomest of the awesomest!"

"Right after I suggested it." Roderich rolled his eyes, muttering to himself.

"You're way too high on your horse to think of anything as awesomely-filled as this Roddy!" Gilbert snickered, sticking his tongue out in a mocking way, and Roderich crossed his arms and glared, thinking that that was completely unnecessary, blushing a tad as he thought so.

"Eyebrows! How lovely to see you again! Why on earth are you as rouge as a rose, mon petite chou?" Francis exclaimed, walking in the door, arms outstretched.

"Don't call me Eyebrows you bloody Frog!" Arthur called, wishing that that damn Francis would just leave-he never ceased to pester him in biology and he knew the Frenchman wouldn't stop now.

Ignoring the bickering between Francis and Arthur, Ludwig sighed, "Mein gott. I knew this was a bad idea. Kiku and I should have just come up ourselves. Whenever we're in a group we always screw everything up."

"Luddy~!" Feliciano called out as he ran up to the door. "Those stairs were terrible to get up but then I saw a spider and had to rush up here as soon as I could!"

"Of course you did." Ludwig sighed, rolling his eyes.

Arthur felt surprised there were this many people to see him here. He'd never had close friends before, so he wasn't really sure what to say.

"You all didn't need to come see me. I just had a bit of an upset stomach is all." He realized he felt a little embarrassed at so much attention. The other day in third period math he'd been thinking that if he were to die, nobody would've cared. How could that assumption suddenly change so drastically?

"A-After Francis told us what happened to you we had to come and see that you were okay." Matthew said quietly in the corner.

"I hope Iggy's gonna be okay! You took some nasty blows, bro!" Alfred exclaimed and hugged Arthur.

Arthur smiled at Alfred, still surprised they all cared. He didn't even know half of them.

"Well we can probably go back to the cafeteria now. I won't make you all wait to eat your lunches anymore."

"Be careful Iggy!" Alfred said as Arthur moved and winced.

Matthew watched as his brother helped Arthur up. He frowned when he realized it had been as if no one had really noticed what he'd said. But he was used to that.

The room started to clear as the chatter moved outside, and as Matthew stood in the corner, they all left. He wondered why not being noticed was suddenly so irritating to him.

The room now empty, he felt...angry.

He'd never felt really _angry_ like this before, only hopeless. I mean, the last time he'd felt this strong of emotions was when he'd lived in the orphanage with Arthur and his brother, and had realized his feelings for Alfred. They'd been locked up since then, but only because there was no one to threaten how he felt about the hamburger-loving hero. It was all too new to him, but also familiar. And the grudge he felt against Iggy had only just surfaced.

He felt an overwhelming rush of sadness and anger flow through him. Then, shocked at the sudden strange feelings, he left the room to join the others, trying to forget overall what he'd just felt.

Francis stood outside the nurse's office, as the others walked away. He watched his beloved Canadian as emotions visibly shifted on the quiet boys face. Anger. Hurt. Pain. Shock.

The Frenchman knew what was happening. He knew Matthew had feelings for Alfred. He'd known since the time the four of them had lived together at the orphanage. A lot had changed since then-they'd all been separated out into different families except for Alfred and Mattie-but feelings had stayed the same-stale and more powerful and deeper than ever.

Francis knew this was his chance. All those years ago he'd had to leave Mattie with that rude, selfish, hamburger-loving bastard. Well not this time. Matthew would see that he had no chance with his brother. He would make sure that Mattie would get his grudge towards Arthur sent out in the worst possible way-by blackmailing, deceit and war-and that Alfred would go with him. When it comes to love, it _is_ war, after all, he thought to himself, knowingly, as he rested his arm on the Canadian's shoulders and headed to lunch.

* * *

So I thought I should probably translate the french...although it isn't too much :3 Finally...a use for taking French for two years T_T ..

Oh, mon petit chou! : Oh, my little cabbage!

Oh, mon ami! : Oh, my friend!

Je suis desole : I'm sorry.

bonjour : hello (yeah, I know it's obvious..but you know some ppl don't know French at all.. xP)

c'est bien : It's good.

rouge : red

Please review and follow and favorite etc...I really love it~! ^0^

It gives me meaning in this world! I know that sounds a little far fetched..but it's true. W/o you people who read my work...I would wither and die in a black hole...well pretty much. Anyway thanks to you all! :D


	3. The Friends

Sorry this chapter is sort of short and jumps around a lot! xP Hope you like it anyway~! ^-^

I'm not completely satisfied with it but w/e...good enough! x3 I think I need my Loni-editor back xP Because editing is a long process v.v And w/o her I can't fix as many things :3

USUK FOREVERRRRR! 8DD

Enjoy~! :D

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As they headed for the lunch room on the first floor, Alfred was, once again, clutching obviously onto Arthur's hand as he had an expressive, enthralling and _noisy_ conversation with Gilbert, one of his best buddies.

Arthur had already given up trying to pull away from the strong American's grip and was now talking to some people he'd never met before. And they actually weren't that bad-not nearly as bad as Alfred, manner-wise...and no where near close to the bullies he'd encountered the first four and half weeks of school so far.

"So you're from England I suspect?" The boy with dark brown hair and a serious tone asked as he shifted his glasses upright on his nose.

"Yeah I am. And what about you?" Arthur asked.

"My name is Roderich. I'm Hungarian and I have a particular talent on the piano. My grades are my top priority and annoying kids..." Roderich glared over in the American's and the Prussian's direction, "I _don't_ agree with." Arthur, following Roderich's eyes, glanced over at the two, as well.

But Gilbert and Alfred were way too indulged in their animated conversation, and they hadn't noticed a thing.

Arthur already felt like he had a lot in common with Roderich. He wasn't half bad. Maybe a little snooty, but the rest of his logic made up for that. God, finally he had a friend that was actually sane and actually thought about doing something before he did it. That brought Arthur's green stare down to his hand being held, once more, and he quickly looked back up. That bloody American. Doing whatever he pleased, often something stupid, without thinking for a second about the consequences.

But what was this consequence? The thought suddenly popped up into his head. Arthur retailed it with a quick-shot answer; it's embarrassing...and _completely_ obnoxious. He thought as he tried to convince himself that that was the truth.

Arthur struggled harder with the forceful grip, his elbow in air, pulling up hard. He wouldn't stand for this. He _would_ be free if it was the last thing he'd...

"What's wrong, Iggy?" Alfred had noticed the tugging on his arm, his hand now high to the ceiling, and looked over at Arthur, with an innocent and confused expression on his face. It suddenly reminded Arthur of when the American had been small...a foot or two shorter than him in height, those still prominent blue eyes looking innocently up at him...only, now Alfred was taller and more grown up. But the same small kid inside that never ceased to take your heart away with that look. Arthur realized he hadn't changed as much as he'd thought...yeah, maybe he _was_ a lot more unpleasant and loud to be around, saying the least; and not _as_ cute as before...but Arthur would say that the blonde was the kid he'd grown up with for three years of his life, the little brother he'd loved. Why had he ever left him? He wondered.

Arthur hadn't realized as he thought this, but now as he zoned back into the present, everyone had stopped walking and were staring at Iggy, puzzled at what he was doing. Damnit for Alfred and his loud voice, and damnit for himself suddenly drifting off like that.

"N-nothing." He lowered his elbow with a slight pink tinge to his cheeks and watched as Alfred's innocent face turned back to his energized, hyperactive self, laughing at Arthur's dazed look, pointing at his face and shouting, "Dude you have the stupidest face right now! Hahahaha!"

"You bloody wanker!" Arthur bursted into the halls.

As the others continued to walk, Francis made a snide comment from the back, "Honhonhonhon...Eyebrows is stuck to the hamburger-loving freak like glue."

"Shut up, frog!" Arthur yelled. The Frenchman just laughed.

They deserted the already empty halls and entered the cafeteria for food.

Matthew followed, wondering why when he'd made the comment on how Alfred wasn't a freak, no one, not even Francis had noticed.

.

.

…

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.

Alfred ran up to the aisle where the burgers were kept. The gate had been closed, and no one could venture in to buy a thing anymore.

"Noooooo!" Alfred wailed by the burger aisle, grabbing onto the gate. He'd _so_ wanted another one. Or two. Why'd they have to close so early?

"Looks like they're closing up for lunch. We did take a while getting back." Roderich commented.

"Alfred stop clinging on the gate like a starved kid, you git." Arthur rolled his eyes.

"But they _are_ starving me Iggy! So unheroic of them, too." Alfred pouted as the group walked over to a lunch table and all sat down.

"You've already had two..." Arthur reasoned as his stomach growled. Once again, the group noticed and Alfred had to point it out.

"Iggy, dude, you haven't had _anything_ to eat! How are you going to live through the rest of the day?!" The American started freaking out, looking at Arthur with an upset expression on his face, like the world was going to end.

"Don't worry, I made my own lunch today in cooking class. I ran out of money on my account the other day, and I thought it was time I cooked a meal for myself. I can share if you'd like." Arthur looked up proudly at the others, as he pulled out a bag from his backpack and set it on the blue-green table.

Francis started laughing like a mad man, shaking his head as his hair swished from side to side, "Non...s'il vous plait...non!" He gasped out between the ongoing steam of honhonhonhonhonhon.

Matthew blocked his nose from the obvious smell radiating from the lunch bag, "No, that's alright, Arthur."

"I don't get it." Alfred stared blankly at Francis' reaction, a confused expression on his face. He used to love Iggy's food when he was a kid, why was Francis declining this awesome offer?

"Then why don't you try some?" Francis pointed out to Alfred, wanting to see the American completely taken aback for once.

"Sure!" Alfred beamed.

"I'd be delighted to share my cooking with you Alfred! Would anyone else like some?" Arthur looked around at the others.

"Depends. If it's awesome, I'll have some, if not then I'll have to pass." Gilbert smirked.

"How good at cooking are you, Arthur?" Roderich asked, skeptically. Everyone looked at the Englishman.

"He's great!" Alfred boasted, "At least from when I remember."

"If it's pasta, I'll have some~!" Feliciano exclaimed.

"You eat too much of that already, Feli." Ludwig sighed.

"No, it's not pasta. It's actually scones~! Complements from my descendant's British recipes." Arthur pulled them out of the bag and Alfred snatched one up straight away.

"Dude, that's awesome! You used to make these all the time, Artie~!" He took a big bite of the thing and everyone heard a crunching sound. The American pulled back from the scone.

"Ow! I think I broke a tooth! And what kind of flavor is that Iggy?! Gross, dude!"

"Well excuse me if I cooked them a little over the limit! They're the same recipe my grandma uses, I only added a few little spices here and there!" Arthur exclaimed defiantly in a huff, scooting the pile of scones back in front of him on the table, crossing his arms and looking the other direction. Matthew's direction.

Matthew picked one up and actually started eating the thing. It's flavor was horrifying and he could barely chew the thing, but he managed to do so anyway. To try and make Arthur feel better.

"Eh...It's good." Matthew commented, smiling at Arthur, as surely as he could muster.

"You've got to be joking!" Francis whipped his head in his direction. "Mon cher, that is nothing even close to bien!"

"I'm not joking! And it's not like you could do much better, you bloody frog!" Arthur answered Francis as if he had never even heard what Matthew had said. It's like he hadn't even _seen_ Matthew eating the horrid scone. Matthew tried to tap Arthur's shoulder, but he got no response.

"Dude, it's more like a rock!" Alfred laughed loudly, having gotten the flavor out of his mouth.

"It's not that bad, brother..." Matthew tried to comment, seeing Arthur suddenly slump down at that comment, staring at the table in silence and defeat. But Gilbert skipped over him like he was talking to himself.

"So unawesome." Gilbert laughed with him.

"Gilbert _you_ shouldn't be commenting. You have no skill in cooking, whatsoever." Roderich raised his eyebrows at the albino.

"That you know of." He raised his eyebrows up and down like caterpillars. "I could be awesome in the kitchen and you wouldn't even know."

"Doubt it." Roderich scoffed.

"And rightly so." Ludwig nodded at Roderich, knowingly.

"Luddy is wonderful at cooking, it's just he'll never cook me pasta!" Feliciano sighed. "He tells me to eat something more 'productive', I think is the word he uses."

"All you're ever thinking about is pasta, Feli." Ludwig shook his head.

"No, that's not true!" Feliciano exclaimed, "I think about Luddy, too!"

"You shouldn't say that so loud." Ludwig blushed slightly at that and stayed quiet.

"What are you gonna do with those scones, bro?" Alfred asked Arthur.

"I'm going to _eat_ them. That's what I made them for." Arthur glared at Alfred, and looked down again, stubbornly, at his pile of treats in front of him.

Alfred noticed Iggy looking upset and watched as Arthur flashed a look of shock on his face when the American picked up another, in order to make him feel better about his cooking. He _had_ boasted for the poor guy only seconds before he dissed the scones.

"Well I better help you then." He crunched down on it and Arthur watched in disbelief. He was actually eating it, and it suddenly cheered him up so much that he was now beaming.

Alfred looked over at Iggy. "I was still hungry since I only got those two burgers." He grinned and took another bite.

The brit wasn't really sure what to say to that, he only shook his head and nibbled on the scone, trying to hide his smile.

"I'm not sure if I would stomach one of those if I were you, mon chaton." Francis warned Alfred once more, but the American shrugged and continued to gulp down one bite after the other.

"Yeah, I can't believe we're the only ones who remember Arthur's awful meals he attempted to cook up for us, eh?" Matthew whispered to Francis, getting a laugh out of him. "B-brother, I'm surprised you can eat them so fast!" He said aloud.

Usually Alfred would have heard him by then. But still no reply from the others. Matthew looked to his lap. Francis put an arm around the Canadian. He felt terribly sorry for his beloved Mattie, but knew it was the only way they would become close, like they'd always meant to be. The American didn't feel that way about Matthew, anyway. So there had never been a chance for the two. Matthew was just going to have to deal with the fact sooner or later.

And he knew that there was nothing that could be done in order for Arthur to see Matthew. Or any way of stopping the others from slowly forget about him and just seeing and hearing nothing. It'd happened before at the orphanage. Nothing could stop it then, and nothing would stop the process from escalating now.

He watched as Arthur scolded Gilbert and Alfred, alongside Roderich, and sometimes blushed from the delighted American's silly actions. Everything was falling into place. Everything was going perfectly. He would get his way this time.

…

..

.

..

...

Matthew sat there for the rest of the time wondering why no one but Francis could hear him. Why the longer Arthur was laughing and talking to the others, the more people didn't recognize a thing he said. They used to at least nod in his direction-take some note of what he was saying...now there was nothing. And what scared him the most was that Alfred was doing it too-not noticing him, ignoring him, acting like he didn't even exist. Mattie sat there at the table, feeling his hate for Arthur build up. Why did he have to come in and steal his friends away? Steal his life and _voice_ away?

What was happening?

…

..

.

..

…

After lunch, Arthur had walked away from his new friends in joy. They'd all exchanged numbers as the bell had rung.

Alfred had been really disappointed the only class Arthur and himself had together was lunch. He'd also wondered why they'd never run into each other during lunchtime. But Arthur would never tell.

He now sat in his english class-the subject he was best at. But, unlike usual, he found his thoughts wandering as he lay his chin on his arms in front of him, and stared at the book in front of him, the teacher reading aloud. The students were popcorn reading.

He still couldn't believe he had someone to talk to now. He couldn't believe he'd seen Alfred after all these years.

Alfred...

Arthur felt himself drifting off as he thought of him when he was younger. That shine in his eyes as Arthur cooked for him, tucked him in bed, and read him stories.

He'd really been the greatest little brother ever. But he'd never admit that now-that'd just be embarrassing. Arthur remembered the American had gotten all quiet in the nurse's office and the look he'd given him had been expectant, waiting. It'd almost been scary. The way Alfred's usual behavior had changed suddenly to such a serious and deadly look on his face. He'd said he'd been alone before. But when? How? He sure seemed like he'd turned out cheerful enough...so why did that loneliness still hurt him so greatly?

And why did Arthur have a feeling it had to do with himself...?

He felt his eyes close and suddenly open as a loud ring of the bell woke him up.

Arthur, hair messy, jolted up from his seat, grabbed his things and left the room. How had he fallen asleep in one of his favorite classes? Well...favorite subjects anyway.

Actually, he was surprised that no one had picked on him today. Maybe it was because he wasn't being a 'show off', a 'teacher's pet', and a 'know it all', today, as a group of students always would say as they beat him up...

He guessed it was from the lack of sleep he'd gotten last night.

The brit walked into the hallways, trying to wake himself up, as he headed for history, the last class of the day.

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…

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Francis was now running right by Alfred, gasping for breath as he tried to keep up. Their gym teacher watched them and told them to all run faster.

"Wait! Mon cher!" Francis tapped Alfred on the shoulder and the American turned, jogging in spot as he let the Frenchman catch up.

"What's up bro?"

"How do you have that much energy! We've been running for over twenty minutes!" He exclaimed.

"Dude it hasn't been that long." Alfred laughed at him.

"Sure seems like it...I was wondering..." Francis tried to catch his breath as he laid his eyes on the American's face, trying to take in the expression that he'd get from his next question. "How do you feel about seeing Arthur again?"

The Frenchman watched as he saw it-there it was-the look that Alfred had given him in a split second was taken aback; shocked. And the American had to look away, in the distance, his dirty-blonde hair falling across his face as he settled his eyes on the inside track. He had very mixed feelings about it, he thought to himself. Alfred then was running faster, trying to get away from the question that pressed into his mind. Francis struggled to keep up.

"Iggy's awesome." He smiled, but Francis saw the uncertainty in the closed eyes. He was hiding his true feelings from him. Didn't he know that that wouldn't work on him? He'd known him most of his life. He'd watched the American's feelings grow for the Englishman in the small, homey orphanage, with his very own two eyes.

"Mais, mon petit chou...you haven't seen him in a long time. The last time I asked you...you never wanted to see him again. You held a grudge against him all these years. It hasn't just dissapeared, has it?" Francis pressed, now finding it easier as the American slowed to a light jog. He stared at the ground, thinking intensely.

Why had he even stopped those people from hurting Arthur? He'd already answered that question to Iggy in the nurse's office...he hated seeing him in pain. But had something changed? He'd sworn to never let himself interact with Arthur ever again after _that_ had happened. So why was he all of a sudden changing his mind? Is it right to forgive him so quickly?

"Mon cher?" Francis looked at the American's head of hair, drooping to the ground in thought.

"Hm? Oh, well you know. I guess I just missed him..." He lifted his head and blurted out quickly with a huge smile, "Catch you later!" Alfred sped off, leaving Francis in the dust.

He'd learnt a lot without Arthur-how to smile even when you're down. How to always look on the bright side. How to hide your true feelings and just act like you didn't have a care in the world. It sucked that this whole Arthur mess was suddenly making it harder to obey those rules he followed by, but he'd just have to try harder.

He also wished Francis wasn't so nosy all the time. I mean, he was an awesome bro and all...and it was nice that he actually cared...

But thinking about this stuff really messed up his emotions to the point where he couldn't control them.

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Matthew walked home alone, Kumajiro in his backpack, wondering where Alfred was. They always walked together. Why was today different? But he already knew that answer.

His feet trudged on the sidewalk as he felt all of his confidence that he'd somehow managed to build up over the years drifting away.

He didn't understand how no one had seen him. Matthew felt despair and loneliness in this fact. But Arthur had never been able to see him...only sometimes mistake him for Alfred whenever he had realized he was there. But that was it.

"Mattie~! Mon chaton!" Matthew heard a voice calling from behind him and he continued to walk, only half paying attention to Francis' exclamations.

Suddenly there was an arm around his shoulder and Matthew let out an, "Eh?" as he turned his head to see the Frenchman smiling down at him.

"You sure are spacey today, mon cher." Francis chuckled to himself.

"I am?" The Canadian asked, playing with his hands nervously.

"Oui, and showing your nervous habits again."

That made Matthew lift his head and look at him. "It's just..."

"They're not seeing you again. I've noticed."

He looked back down at his shoes.

Francis pulled him closer and Matthew clung to him, as he heard him whisper into his sweater, "Even Alfred..."

"I know." Francis knew all too well. Matthew used to cry himself to sleep most nights when they were children. He'd always been alone. But Francis could change that. _Would_ change that.

* * *

Please review etc~! :D It rly does help keep me going. And thanks for all of the past reviews. I shall have DenNor in here soon! ^0^


	4. The Schedules

I kind of needed this to plan out each day etc...it took a while to purposefully put people together and stuff. x3 But here it is finished. Let me know if you'd like to see any particular classes at any point in time in the story. Besides that I'll just show the significant ones that keep the story moving along! ;)

Mikkel=Denmark

Lukas=Norway

Side Note: I decided not to have Spain and Romano in this story..I might add them in later..maybe. But it's just a lot of work to keep track of that many characters/pairings~! X3 So I'm sorry if you were looking forward to Spamano VoV

* * *

**Class Schedules:**

1st Period

Cooking-_Arthur__, Lukas_

Art-_Ludwig, Feliciano, Kiku_

Music-

Study Hall-

History_-Mikkel_

Gym-

English-_Alfred__, Francis, Matthew_

Math-_Gilbert__, Roderich_

Biology-

2nd Period

Cooking-

Art-_Lukas_

Music-

Study Hall-

History-

Gym-_Arthur__, Mikkel, Ludwig, Feliciano_

English-_Gilbert_

Math-_Alfred__, Francis, Matthew, Kiku_

Biology-_Roderich_

3rd Period

Cooking-

Art-_Francis_

Music-

Study Hall-

History-

Gym-

English-_Roderich__, Ludwig, Feliciano_

Math-_Arthur_

Biology-_Alfred__, Matthew, Gilbert, Mikkel, Lukas, Kiku_

4th Period

Cooking-_Alfred__, Matthew_

Art-

Music-_Roderich_

Study Hall-_Mikkel__, Lukas, Ludwig_

History-

Gym-_Gilbert__, Kiku_

English-

Math-

Biology-_Arthur__, Francis, Feliciano_

1st LUNCH-_Arthur__, Alfred, Francis, Matthew, Gilbert, Roderich, Ludwig, Feliciano_

5th Period

Cooking-

Art-

Music-

Study Hall-

History-_Matthew__, Gilbert, Roderich, Feliciano, Kiku_

Gym-_Alfred__, Francis_

English-_Arthur_

Math-_Mikkel__, Lukas_, _Ludwig_

Biology-

2nd LUNCH-_Mikkel__, Lukas, Kiku_

6th Period

Cooking-

Art-

Music-

Study Hall-_Alfred__, Gilbert_

History-_Arthur__, Francis_

Gym-_Matthew__, Roderich, Mikkel, Lukas_

English-_Kiku_

Math-_Feliciano_

Biology-_Ludwig_


	5. The Party Plans

Longest chapter yet~! :D

So I haven't edited this one either...please let me know if you find any mistakes xP I really should...but I just soo wanted to update it~! ^0^ I will later...I promise! :3

Anyway...enjoy~ *u*

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Arthur sat in first period cooking class, wondering what they were making today. He loved to cook. It was one of his passions. But whenever he did so, people seemed to avoid his cooking table. His cooking partner had left the class after the first week they'd been cooking. So he was pretty much all alone. Arthur refused to understand and accept why, of course.

"Today, we'll be making custard tarts."

Some few people 'Oooh'-ed and 'Ahh'-ed. Others you could tell had just joined because they thought this would be an easy A. Which it was...if you could cook decently and follow directions.

Arthur found himself struggling with that easy A. It wasn't because he couldn't follow directions..mostly. It was because things he cooked just never seemed to agree with him. Or people's stomachs.

Iggy got set to work on their new desert. He got out the ingredients and cracked an egg into the bowl. Only a pinch of nutmeg? No...that would never do. The more nutmeg, the better, Arthur knew. He put a cup in, instead. Yes, he nodded to himself. Already more delicious. Nutmeg went with cinnamon, right? And sugar...Arthur decided to throw in a few heaped tablespoons of the spice. Much better.

As Arthur was in his own cooking world in the back corner of the classroom, mixing the bowl as he hummed to himself a tune that he used to sing to Alfred to put him to bed, Lukas spotted the brown-lumpy mixture and knew that he'd done it wrong. Again.

"Hey..." He walked over to him slowly, his arms crossed at the edge of the table. But Arthur didn't notice the light-blonde boy in front of his cooking table. He was too busy humming that soft tune.

"Hello? You do realize you're doing it wrong, don't you?" Lukas said, trying to get his attention.

"Hm?" Iggy opened his eyes to see a slightly smaller guy in front of him.

"You put in way too much nutmeg..and is that cinnamon? It didn't even call for cinnamon." Lukas felt a little frustrated by this guy's cooking ignorance, but set that aside as he moved in front to take the bowl in his hand. He removed some of the lumpy, dry, brown mixture out of the bowl and into the garbage. He added two eggs. The right amount of flour and a pinch of salt. Now for the butter and some water...

"W-what the bloody hell are you doing?" Iggy looked at Lukas' hands as they moved quickly and proficiently with fixing the mixture to perfection, now mixing it together.

"I'm _helping_ you."

"But...it was fine before! Anyway this is _my_ cooking!" He stared at him, horrified.

"Well it's _your_ grade, I suppose." He stepped back a little and stared right back at Arthur.

"Yes...it is. What was I...doing wrong?" Arthur questioned as he looked down at the mixture in the bowl-now frothy and a light creamy-yellow color. It _did_ look a bit better than the brown goop he was mixing up before, he would admit. But still...this guy had no right to interfere with his creation.

"Well, for starters you weren't following the recipe. Never go back on it. It all starts with the base-the main ingredients. Flavorings often come in small doses, not large ones like the base ingredients do, got it?"

Arthur found himself pulled in by this information. This guy knew what he was talking about. He nodded.

"Who are you?" Arthur asked.

"I'm Lukas. And you?"

"Arthur. I'm from England." He decided to throw in his nationality at random, but with pride.

"Yet...you don't know how to bake a basic custard tart?" Lukas shook his head and sighed as he turned away to his own table. "Typical of you brits with your cooking and all."

"Hey, what does that mean?!" Iggy yelled after him and got a few stares. He turned back and continued with pouring the mixture into pans. He remembered to only add a small amount of vanilla extract. Perfect. He beamed. Although he could be a little rude, Iggy felt like Lukas had been helpful in the long run.

Now maybe he could make some treats for his new friends like he'd wanted to. He really was glad he had friends. As cheesy as that sounded, just the thought of them made him determined to cook them something nice.

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…

..

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It was already second period and Matthew had noticed a big significance. Something big.

All in first period, Matthew had purposely been louder than usual and Alfred _had_ noticed him. It had relieved the Canadian so much. Now he couldn't stop talking to him; to make sure that Alfred wouldn't forget him. To make sure that he wouldn't lose sight of his brother again.

"So, Alfred, how do you do this problem?" Matthew let the long string of words fall from his mouth as he walked over to him to 'find help'. Truthfully, Alfred was a horrible math teacher and student...but he had to be near him while he could. He had to hold on before his brother let go of him again.

"Uhhh...hmmm. I know this one!" Alfred sat there in his chair, scratching his head with his pencil, trying to be a helpful hero at all times.

Francis watched the two from by the doorway. They were by the window and now blabbering constantly. It bugged him, he knew. But he would just have to be patient. Good things came to those who wait.

It had shocked him, too. That the hamburger-lover could still see Mattie. This morning, both him and the Canadian had their mouths wide open at Alfred's cheerful response to Matthew's good morning, "Hey, bro! Haven't seen you around in a while. Have you been hiding or something?"

But Francis knew that Matthew would soon be forgotten again. It'd only be a matter of time before all of their friends wouldn't even see Matthew when Arthur _wasn't_ around.

He wasn't sure why, but Arthur Kirkland had always had that effect on Matthew. As if his presence made him disappear.

He knew Arthur didn't mean too. But he had an idea of why.

And it'd been a complete mistake. But since Arthur couldn't see or hear the Canadian anymore, he couldn't fix the spell he'd put on him all those years ago.

It was a shame, really. That it'd affected Matthew's life so much.

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..

…

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.

The bell rang, signalling third period. Right as Matthew was about to ask Alfred if he wanted to walk with him to next period, Alfred jumped up from his seat and rushed out the door to try and find Iggy. He knew he didn't have any classes with him, and that was all the more reason to search for him. He had no clue what he was going to say when he got there...but he needed to somehow fix his emotions from screwing up his constant smile. He hated feeling down in the dumps. Heros just don't do depression.

He rushed through the halls, knocking past people, but slowed down as he realized he had no clue where Iggy would be or what his next class would be. Alfred continued searching, but couldn't find him at all. He ended up having to rush to class, barely through the door as the bell rang.

Well that was pointless. The American pouted in his seat as Matthew watched him worriedly.

The teacher started talking and Alfred instantly started to zone out, wondering what he should do about Arthur...

He was the only thing on his mind. Last night he barely got to sleep. Why couldn't he just stop thinking about that one time...?

"Hey, Alfred!" Mikkel whispered loudly from two seats across from him.

"Hey dude!" Alfred grinned and gave a small wave as he whispered back.

Lukas, the person who sat between them sighed and rolled his eyes at Mikkel and the note that was clutched in his hand.

"Come on, Lukas!" Mikkel playfully blew a kiss at him as he tipped in his seat toward him and laughed.

"Fine, but you know you're gonna be caught. And I'll give you a slap if you do that again." Lukas glared at Mikkel and passed the note to Alfred.

Finally recieving it, after all of that drama, Alfred opened it up up to see scribbled letters:

_Why so down? It doesn't suit a hero such as yourself._

Alfred slouched at the thing and looked over at Mikkel as he was trying to get a kiss from his boyfriend. That got him an idea.

_I'll tell you later. Hey, can I ask you a question? How do you and Lukas keep your relationship together, even though you're practically opposites?_

He folded the note into an airplane and flew it to Mikkel. The two of them laughed as it hit Mikkel's forhead and Lukas just frowned at the both, shaking his head at them.

Alfred kept an eye on the teacher-but he was too old to notice a thing that went on in this class.

He felt something hit the back of his head. "Ow! What was tha-?" Alfred turned and saw the words 'AWESOME' spelt on the airplane. Only Gilbert would be the one who made this airplane.

Alfred looked up to spot Gilbert grinning at him with a wave. The three of them were known as the Awesome Trio. And for a reason. In third period, they'd always pull pranks and act up in class. It was great fun and always too easy because of their pretty much blind teacher. Besides that, they were best of bros.

I mean they could be texting right now...but that just wasn't as fun!

Alfred picked up the note and opened it up to read,

_What are you guys talking about?_

Alfred wondered what to tell Gilbert. He couldn't tell him he was getting advice on his love life. That was just too serious. He decided to go with,

_Adult stuff._

He folded the paper back up and flew the airplane back towards Gilbert. He caught it in his hand and smirked, "Look at my awesome skills. I know you're all jealous that you can't be this awesome."

Alfred laughed and turned back to Mikkel to see that a note was on his desk, already unfolded and ready to read,

_I don't know. Maybe it's because I never leave Lukas alone and he likes attention, even though he won't admit it! XD_

_I do not! It's because even though you're annoyingly touchy all the time, I'm somehow able to deal with all of it. You're lucky you have someone like me around. I don't think anyone else would deal with a brat like you._

_I know I'm lucky to have you! You should give in to my kisses more often, though! You know you like it! ;) _

_I'm not even going to answer that._

This hadn't helped Alfred much at all. How about...

_Hey can I ask you another question? Let's say...figuratively...that Lukas had left you once or just screwed up majorly and had really hurt you, what would you do? Would you forgive him?_

He wrote '_For Mikkel Only' _and passed along the message, Lukas passing it along in silence to Mikkel.

Alfred watched as Mikkel opened the note and read it a few times. Then Mikkel started scrawling on the thing, a serious and thoughtful expression on his face.

After a while, Alfred go the message back, ignoring the one Gilbert hit him with in the back of the head. As he rubbed his blonde head of hair, he opened up the note and in Mikkel's handwriting it said,

_You sure are in a serious mood today, Alfred. Well, if you really want to know a straight out answer, I would definitely forgive him. Just because he's Lukas, you know? And yeah, he should do things better sometimes, but if he hurt me that bad I'm sure he didn't mean to. I'd probably just tell him how I'd been feeling and all the drama would be over, get what I mean? Has something been bothering you lately? This isn't like you._

Alfred crumpled up the note and shoved it in his pocket. He'd save it for later. He was seeing things more clearly now. And he knew what to do with Arthur. He shook his head with a smile at Mikkel, trying to calm his bro and let him know he was doing alright.

Mikkel stared at him a little longer and just shrugged once more as he focused his attention on Lukas again, now trying to cling onto him as Lukas tried to stay upright in his seat and simultaneously push the taller off of him.

Then as Alfred felt another airplane his his head he turned around and saw about five notes on the ground,

_Like what?_

_You know I'm even awesomer than an adult, so don't worry I can take it._

_Is it too dirty to tell?_

_Does it have to do with Arthur? Cause I know you like him._

_What'd you two do together? ._

_Or is it just Mikkel blabbing about what he'd do to Lukas if he had the chance again? XD I'm sorry for you dude. So not awesome._

Alfred turned to Gilbert after writing down the answer, and flew an airplane at him.

Gilbert opened it up and he snickered as he read,

_Don't tell anyone about Arthur and me bro. And I know you're the awesomest of the awesomest. They're just giving some advice. Like I said, adult stuff._

.

..

…

..

.

It was now fourth period in biology and Arthur was about done with Francis' whispers to him in the middle of a lecture.

"Shut it...you'll get us into trouble!" Arthur hissed back at him.

"I know you like him." Francis whispered seductively into Arthur's ear.

That made his ears turn pink and suddenly his whole face turned red. "W-what are you talking about you git?"

"I know you like Alfred. Alfred F. Jones. Your American lover~!" The Frenchman rolled the r on lover as he continued to whisper to Arthur in his French accent.

"Shut up...I do not."

"You won't admit it, but you cannot lie, Eyebrows. You're in love with him. You have been ever since we all were young. At the orphanage." Francis' lips curled into a smile. This was so much fun.

"N-no I don't you bloody frog!"

"But you know...he does not love you."

England's heart dropped into his stomach as the words were whispered into his ear. He felt stone cold in the biology seat at the lab station they 'happened' to share. Why did they have to be talking about this now? Why did Francis have to be telling him all of these ridiculous things that he didn't want to hear?

"Y-you're lying." The crack in his voice could be heard by both of them. It was all Arthur could manage at this point.

"Non, mon cher. I do not. This is the truth. Alfred and I were running yesterday in gym. When I asked him about you...all he could do was turn away and try not to look at me with those big, sad eyes..."

"Just shut up already!" Arthur yelled. The whole class turned to him.

The teacher walked toward his desk, lowering his glasses and looking right at Arthur and Francis' desk. Even though the guy could barely hear a thing, he had still heard him.

"Is there a problem you have with my teaching?" He pointedly asked Arthur.

"N-no." Iggy said as he looked down and shook his head.

"Alright then. No more interruptions or else I'll have to send you to the office." Their science teacher walked back up to the front of the room, continuing with his lecture.

"Ohhh, Angelterre. That was a close one!" Francis chuckled and smirked down at him.

Arthur sat there, trying to stay quiet and ignore him. He just needed to calm down was all. He looked back up to the teacher, trying to block out the Frenchman. But he was _not _helping.

"Eyebrows? Are you going to ignore me now? Just because I mentioned that Alfred doesn't like you...now you're going to be all sulky?"

Still, England stayed in his seat, now with clenched teeth and he felt like punching Francis in order for him to just shut it.

"Angelterreeee? Just because you've been in love with him your whole life and he is not shouldn't make you so upset. And it's just rude not to talk to your big brother."

Ignore him. Ignore him. Ignore him. Arthur felt himself thinking as his fists were clenched on his desk, his eyes shut.

"Alfred could never love you. He only thinks of you as a past big brother. That'll never change. No matter how much you wish it to."

He stood up and stormed out of the room, not caring what the class or the teacher thought of him at that moment. He just needed to get away from that pesky Francis and stop thinking about what he'd said.

The door closing behind him, Arthur kept walking away at a fast pace.

What could he do about Francis? He was always getting on his nerves and causing him to get into trouble.

Arthur continued to walk at a fast pace and slowed down at the next bathrooms. He walked inside and washed his face at the basin. That felt a lot better. He loosened the collar that he wore and just stood there for a bit, calming down.

Francis hadn't _really_ meant what he'd said, had he? Arthur wondered. Of course not. He was just trying to provoke him. And it'd worked. Yeah, he'd only done it to get Arthur into trouble again.

Or was it?

He dismissed the thought and sighed as he left the bathroom.

Roaming the halls, wondering what to do until the next class, Arthur decided he wanted to try and change that class. He honestly couldn't stand the rest of the year if he had to deal with Francis' smart alec remarks every single day. Especially if he sat right next to him.

To the office, Arthur walked.

Once he'd arrived, he opened the glass door and found himself in a dull room. He talked to the secretary, nametag on desk and all, and ask her where he could go if he was sent down for a class switch.

It confused her that he was there during class, but she didn't question him. "Down the hall and to the right."

Arthur followed her directions and entered an office labeled, 'Mr. Goodwald.'

He slowly opened the door and peered in to find a man, middle aged with brown hair, tipped back in his chair, smiling up at Arthur.

"Hello." Arthur stated as the door shut behind him.

"Hello there. Take a seat." He motioned to one in front of his desk.

"I'm here to switch classes." Iggy sat down.

"Alright. What's your name?" Mr. Goodwald asked.

"Arthur Kirkland."

The man typed something into his computer and with a few clicks he asked, "By whose request?"

"Mine. I want to switch some classes." Arthur said, flatly.

"Okay...which ones?"

"Uh...just my fourth period science."

"Why?"

"Because there's this one person distracting me in that class and he always gets me into trouble because of it."

"I see. How is he distracting you?"

"By talking constantly. Almost harassing me, really." Arthur shook his head.

"Alright. That's all I need to know. And I have to tell you that some of your other classes will have to be moved around, it seems. Do you still want to change it?" Mr. Goodwald asked.

"Yes." Arthur gave a quick nod.

"Okay. You should probably go back to class. But if you'd like to just take a breather, you can go to the nurses office." The man smiled and Iggy nodded, thanking him and left the room.

That wasn't so bad, he thought, as he left the office and headed for the nurse.

Arthur knocked on the door to the Mrs. Clover's office and when she saw him through the open door she looked delighted to see him, but a little unsure.

"Why are you here during class, Arthur?"

Arthur went to sit on one of the beds, kicking off his shoes and he layed down. "I was arguing with one of my friends who was trying to provoke me."

"No fights though, right...?" She looked at the boy, worriedly.

"Nope, no fights. I just switched my class around so I don't have to deal with him anymore. And the guy from the office said I could come here to rest if I wanted."

"Oh, okay. That's good." Mrs. Clover put a hand to her heart as if she was relaxing from the relief.

"Yep." Arthur said and sighed as he closed his eyes.

"Do you need anything?" She asked.

"Do you think I could have some asprin? My head's killing me." Arthur requested.

"Of course." Mrs. Clover went into the cupboards and pulled out a bottle, took out two and turned the tap on as she filled a cup.

"So how has it been with that boy who came in the other day? I know you didn't notice me keeping an eye on you two, but it seemed that you...like him." She smiled as she brought the medication over.

Arthur opened one eye and looked up at her. "Not true."

"I know you better than most, Arthur. You think I wouldn't tell?" The nurse handed him the tablets and he swallowed both, and closed his eyes again at that.

"Thanks." He said as he felt his eyes get droopy all of a sudden. "I just hope...what Francis said wasn't true."

"What'd he say?" Mrs. Clover asked curiously.

"He said Alfred...didn't feel...the same." Arthur found it hard to spit out the words, a lump in his throat forming, but he was so tired he felt it didn't matter anymore. He'd just sleep and things would all work out okay in the end.

The nurse pulled a blanket on him and sighed as Arthur slept, "Always so troubled." She commented as she sat there for a moment longer, then turned to retreat to work in her office.

.

..

…

..

.

Arthur found himself slowly waking up and grumbling at the light in the room. He pulled off the blanket that had been draped over his legs and he swung his feet to the side of the bed.

Yawning and stretched, arms in the air, he felt content about the sleep he'd gotten. It'd helped a lot with his moodiness of that morning.

"Already up?" Mrs. Clover asked Arthur as she was handing someone a bucket and a glass of water. Stomach flu, Arthur guessed.

"Yeah. What time is it?" He asked, looking for the clock.

"Time for lunch." She said and Arthur nodded sleepily as he pulled his shoes back on, tied the laces and left with a 'thanks' and 'see you later.'

As Arthur walked down the steps he wondered how much trouble he'd be in for leaving the class like that. And how long it would take to be transferred to a different class. He hoped it'd be soon.

Arthur saw the lunch lines that had died down and he wondered how long he'd been gone. Maybe almost as long as last time.

Suddenly, he heard a shout from a table, "Iggy! Over here!" Arthur turned his head in the direction from the yell and saw waving-flag arms in the air.

"Alright, alright. I get it." Arthur mumbled to himself, walked over to them, and sat down at the table, in between Alfred and Francis. Oh great. Francis. Arthur sighed and tried to ignore the frog who was smirking purposefully, small chuckles coming from his direction.

"Why were you gone again Artie?" Alfred pouted, a worried look on his face. He was hoping today hadn't turned out like the last.

"Oui, where were you Angelterre?" Francis smirked as he sent out the remark.

"I was just...at the nurse's. Got a headache halfway through class." Arthur glared at Francis.

"Oh that's too bad." Roderich said.

Alfred was relieved that he hadn't been in there for a different reason. He took a last bite out of his hamburger.

"Mhmm. I'm going to go get some food." Arthur got up, already feeling his head starting to pound again.

After he'd paid for a salad, he sat back down and ate as Gilbert started mentioning, "We have to bring alcohol. It's the definition of awesome. Just kidding. I am, of course."

"You are not." Roderich claimed. "And I won't let you bring alcohol. Who knows what mess you could make if you did?"

"I so am. Yeah but we'd be making a mess together." Gilbert grinned at Roderich. "And we can't _not_ bring alcohol. It's the life of the party. Without alcohol there _is_ no party."

"Yeah it couldn't hurt to have a bit, right?" Alfred grinned right back at Gilbert and they high-fived across the table.

"Are you kidding me? You'll all get into heaps of trouble." Arthur commented as he finished swallowing his salad.

"Arthur is right. Gilbert, mutti is going to be so mad." Ludwig sighed, his head in his hands. Arthur had wondered why he'd been in that position when he'd gotten back. Now he knew.

"No she won't. Cuz she'll never find out." Gilbert smirked. "And vati drinks all the time, so they wouldn't care anyway."

"Is Luddy going?" Feliciano asked. "Ve~ We should go together~!"

"No. Not unless I want to get grounded." Ludwig stated.

"Well I'm going with you on this one, Ludwig. Where would you even host it anyway?" Arthur asked.

"What!" Alfred exclaimed, "But it's at my house~! Iggy has to come!" This was awful. He'd decided to take Mikkel's advice and the party was a perfect time to do so. That'd been the whole reason why he'd come up with the brilliant idea in the first place.

"Not happening. I don't exactly mix well with alcohol."

"But Arthur!" Matthew exclaimed.

"You mean you can't hold much?" Gilbert laughed.

"Yes...and it's not funny in the slightest. I only had a small shot one time at this New Years Eve party and..." Iggy folded his head in his arms on the table, trying not to remember the embarrassing event.

"It's okay Iggy." Alfred put a hand on top of Arthur's. "You don't have to drink any at all."

Arthur thought about it for a moment. "Fine...I'll go as long as you keep me away from the alcohol. And don't sneak in any in my drinks."

"What?! What do you mean you'll go?" Rodeich burst, then sighed. "Fine, I better go to make sure you all don't do something _really_ stupid."

"Alright so the plan is we all go~!" Feliciano hollered.

"Oui, I'll see you all there." Francis said with a smile.

"Nein, mutti and vati will find out eventually. I just don't think it's a good idea to do this." Luwig tried to convince them.

"But it'll be fun! And you could control the intake of liquor if you were there." Matthew said loudly, not even close to his usual whisper.

"But Luddy~! You're no fun!" Feliciano said as he proceeded to pout.

"Ludwig? Did you hear-" Matthew asked as he was cut off by Alfred, "Man this'll be sweet as! We're gonna have everyone there! And I'll invite Mikkel and Lukas."

"me?" Matthew shouted. But Alfred didn't even bat an eyelash. "And this'll be a blast with Iggy around!" He grinned at Arthur as Matthew continued to try and get a word in being even louder now.

"Alfred? Please! Listen to me! I'm talking to you."

"Really Alfred?" Arthur said.

"Why aren't-"

"It isn't necessary to do that." Arthur said calmly, blushing.

"You listening to me?!" Matthew screamed as he found himself out of his seat, heaving in short breaths and tears were rolling down his face.

"Mattie..." Francis got out of his seat, his hand reaching out to the Canadian as Matthew started to walk away.

All the blonde could hear as he walked away was; "Who are you talking to Francis?"

"Oh yeah I wonder where my brother is...I saw him first period. Where has he been disappearing off to?"

And all the blonde could do was feel anger and hatred building up inside of him ready to explode. And all he could do was to try and not cry.

.

..

…

..

.

As Arthur lay in bed that night, hoping to be transferred to different classes soon. And hoping that everything would work out at the party, he felt a buzz by his ear. Lifting his head up from the pillow, and pulling the covers over in order to lay on his stomach, he flipped open his phone and read the text that stared up at him. He specifically remembered Alfred going into his phone and changing the name.

**The_Hero: Hey Artie! **

**Arthur: Hello Alfred. So why'd you text me?**

**The_Hero: I have to have a reason to text you bro?! Awww man... *pouts***

**Arthur: Well it's already midnight you bloody git!**

**The_Hero:Alright alright fine. I did text you to tell you something. Something important.**

Truthfully, the text had surprised Arthur. He didn't expect Alfred to get all serious.

**Arthur: Alright then...go ahead.**

**The_Hero: So I wanted to tell you that I want to see you right before the party to tell you something. It's something that I've been needing to tell you for a long time, because it's all I can think about recently. And it's kinda screwing with my brain haha! So yeah, dude! You should come over a bit early so we can talk alone!**

**Arthur: Okay...but why can't you just tell me now?**

Alfred read the text Arthur had replied with. He couldn't tell him now because...because it was too important, he decided.

**The_Hero: Because I just can't. It's too important to be told over text.**

What could it be? Arthur wondered. The suspense was killing him.

**Arthur: Just tell me tomorrow at lunch then! The party is two and half weeks away!**

**The_Hero: Too many people.**

Arthur found himself blushing. Why was he blushing? It wasn't like...like _that _or anything. No, Alfred didn't feel that way about him. Francis had already made that clear. Arthur found his stomach in a knot and he all of a sudden needed clarification.

**Arthur: Alfie...you don't...not like to be around me, do you?**

The question surprised Alfred. It reminded him too much of the conversation that Francis and he had during gym.

**The_Hero: No! I like having you around Iggy!...where'd you hear that anyway?**

**Arthur: Francis told me during biology that you didn't answer him really. You couldn't answer him when he asked you the question. That all you did was look upset. So I was worried. That's why I'm switching classes...**

**The_Hero: Well that's why I wanted to talk to you before the party! So I can clear it all up.**

**Arthur: But you can't tell me now?**

**The_Hero: No.**

Arthur sighed and typed,

**Arthur: Fine then. Goodnight.**

**The_Hero: You sound mad now! You aren't mad at me are you Iggy?**

**Arthur: No I'm not mad at you Alfie. Goodnight. Sweet dreams.**

**The_Hero: Phew! Okay...night Artie! Love ya! ~the Hero**

Arthur turned his phone off and set it by his pillow. That last two words made his mind wander for a bit. He really hoped so, was the only conclusion he could come to from them.

Arthur finally drifted into sleep and found himself reliving memories with Alfred. The first time they went to the beach together. Alfred played in the sea and Arthur watched from afar to note that he was safe, until Alfred finally convinced Arthur to join him.

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